Brothers Reunited
by E. V. Roslyn
Summary: Jericho makes a major discovery during the events of "Calling All Titans" and "Titans Together". After possessing Private HIVE, Jericho sees something he isn't sure he should have known.


**A/N: This is just a headcannon idea I wanted to get out. I thought this would also be a great early Valentine's Day gift for anyone who wants to read this. Enjoy!**

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Jericho knew who he was the moment he possessed him. Going through his memories told him enough about how he was being ambushed by two villains who were working for the Brotherhood of Evil, but he learned something else. Something he feared he wasn't allowed to know. It seemed too unreal, but here he was, in flesh, blood, and bone. Alive.

_Alive_, Jericho thought to himself. _How is this possible? I thought he was killed years ago._

He had been to his funeral. He had seen his body. He shouldn't be alive. This couldn't be possible.

Shocked from this realization, Jericho left Private HIVE's body and ran from him and Fang. His heart pounded madly in his chest. What should he do? He couldn't keep running forever. And he couldn't use his powers against Fang. He could possess Private HIVE again, but he'd rather not take that risk. Titans are being targeted and attacked across the globe, and now they were after Jericho.

He ran, not even caring about the flowers that were trampled over. His life was more important anyway. Jericho weighed his options. If he just kept running, he would eventually be caught. He knew better than to run to his mother's log cabin not too far from the mountains. She would be safer that way. He could only hope that the Brotherhood of Evil didn't know that much about him. He couldn't stand to see his mother hurt.

Option three was to fight back and pray for a miracle. So that's what he did. Tossing his guitar on a soft patch of flowers, Jericho turned to face his opponents. Private HIVE and Fang stopped chasing him to see what Jericho would do next. He may not have been into martial arts as a child, but, little to the others' knowledge, he was raised in a military family. With the occupation his father held, self-defense was always a priority.

Then he looked back at Private HIVE. Jericho knew who he was, but did HIVE know? Did he know who he was sent to fight against? Did Private HIVE, formerly Ravager, or Grant Wilson, know that Jericho was his younger brother, Joey? Did he know that their father had been missing for over a year? That their mother was only a couple miles away from here?

Did HIVE know the Brotherhood of Evil sent him to capture his own brother?

Jericho was so distracted in his thoughts, he almost didn't notice HIVE and Fang coming closer to him. Jericho took a couple more steps back involuntarily. Fighting them hand-to-hand would be useless. Grant was always much more skilled in combat than he was, and there was no way he could take on Fang. Not with HIVE to protect him.

He closed his eyes. That miracle would do him some good right about now.

The sound of a horn caused Jericho to look up to the source of the noise. A portal opened, and a Titan Jericho already knew as The Herald stepped out from it. Herald pulled Jericho into the portal and closed it, just before HIVE and Fang got a chance to follow them.

"You okay, Jericho?" Herald asked. Jericho smiled and nodded. Physically, he was fine. Emotionally... well... he'd just have to work that out himself.

He wanted to tell Herald. He wanted to tell Pantha, Beast Boy, and Mas. Even if they could understand Jericho, which they didn't, he knew this wasn't something to reveal. He would risk too much by telling them that Private HIVE was actually his older brother believed to be dead. They had bigger problems anyway.

_"Grant!" A younger Joey smiled at his older brother. "Grant! Wanna play with me?"_

_"Not now, Joe. I have to finish this project for Dad."_

_"What'cha doin'?"_

_Grant turned to look at his little brother. Joey was ten years old, yet he still acted like a five-year-old. Grant was much different. Being sixteen, he acted mature for his age, especially around Joey._

_"He wants to train me how to rescue people," Grant responded. At that time, Joey didn't know how much Grant sugarcoated everything he said around him. "I have to memorize this blueprint for a building and think of effective ways to get in and out without anyone knowing."_

_"That sounds fun. Then will you play with me later?"_

_"No," Joey's smile faded. "I don't waste time playing with little kids."_

_"Then will you color with me instead? I drew a picture of Mommy and Daddy."_

_Grant groaned, "God, Joey, you're TEN! Stop coloring and stop calling them 'Mommy' and 'Daddy'. You're such a baby!"_

_That got Joey mad, "Am not!"_

_"Are too! You're scared of the dark!"_

_"No I'm not!"_

_"Then why do you sleep with your bedroom light on?"_

_"... 'Cuz I wanna!" __Blue eyes narrowed down at green eyes. Joey folded his arms and turned around. "Fine! I'll play with Mommy instead! I hate you!"_

_"Like I care, brat!" Grant retorted. He collected his stuff and left the room. "Don't talk to me again!"_

True to Grant's word, Joey didn't and couldn't talk to him again for six years. First with a man slitting Joey's throat, then with Grant's 'death'. Their mother was so distraught with the loss of her older son's life and her younger son's voice, she shot out their father's eye in an attempt to kill him. Joey had already forgiven his father, but he wasn't allowed to see him again.

The years following weren't easy. Joey's mother had always told him he was a beautiful singer, but thanks to a man named Jackal, he couldn't sing or talk anymore. Joey and his mother had to learn sign language so they could communicate. It was different using ASL instead of just talking. It made him feel helpless. Useless. The house became much more quiet without his brother and father there. For a while, Joey's mother wouldn't say anything, making the silence that more unbearable.

He turned to music. While Joey couldn't sing, he still had talent in playing instruments. He learned to play the trumpet, piano, guitar, and flute. His music brought both of them out of depression, and the house became alive once more.

Then came the fateful day Joey discovered his powers. He and his mother had already moved again twice in an attempt to hide themselves from his father's enemies. His mother had just got off the phone with a contractor, and she looked worn out. Joey was fourteen at the time, and had finally mastered ASL. He asked her in sign language what was wrong.

_"Nothing, Joey," she answered. Joey could tell she was lying. "Just read for now, alright?"_

_Joey shook his head and looked at her. His mother frowned at his disobedience and was about to repeat her orders when she looked at Joey in the eyes. He looked right back at her's, just wondering what his mother was hiding from him. The next thing he knew, he was Adeline._

_He gasped as he saw he was the only one in the room. At first, Joey wondered what happened to his mother, but he quickly realized he was taller and standing right where his mother was. His body was gone and he was... or his soul... was inside his mother._

_Out of curiosity, he tried to speak, and became shocked to hear his mother's soothing voice, "What the-... I can talk?"_

_Then, just as quickly as it started, it stopped, and Joey was suddenly forced out of the body. He became solid again and fell on the floor with a thud._

_Adeline gasped. For a while she didn't say anything, trying to understand what just happened, "Joey," she whispered, her identically green eyes wide, "you have powers."_

Powers? I have powers?_ he thought. Joey looked back down at his own two hands. He had possessed his mother's body. He could control her. With that kind of power, he could hurt people._

But Adeline didn't see this as a bad thing. She told Joey that his powers may be the result of experiments that were done on his father long before Joey was conceived. It was important he used these powers to protect himself, she had said.

So they trained. Joey's mother had him possess her time after time again so Joey could control his powers and become stronger with them. He discovered shortly after that he was able to look through the memories and thoughts of whoever he possessed. They had to move once more after that, to live in what they hoped would be their permanent home. Together they lived in a beautiful log cabin with a scenic view of the Rocky Mountains in the Northwest. Joey became an excellent mountaineer, and often he'd find himself playing the guitar on one of the more hilly, flowered mountains.

Soon enough, Joey, renamed 'Jericho', received a Titans communicator from a Titan named Beast Boy. His mother said that it was for the best he had the Titans to back him up. Now that he had a superhero identity, he would need all the protection he could get. It was imperative, however, that no one knew who he lived with. If anyone discovered Jericho with Adeline Kane, his secret identity would be revealed, and neither could stand another loss in their dwindling family.

That same day, not two hours later, he was ambushed. The only reason he knew the names of the villains that attacked him was that Adeline had information involving everything to do with her husband. Joey's father might not know it, but even today Adeline was a far better tracker than Slade.

Private HIVE graduated at H.I.V.E Academy, a school for young people who want to become villains. They knew about the academy because Slade knew the H.I.V.E. Headmistress before she retired. Fang, on the other hand, is the boyfriend of the adopted daughter of Killer Moth. Since he has little to do with Deathstroke, he was of no importance at the time to look further into.

Jericho tried to possess Fang, but with his spider eyes, it was impossible. Jericho could only possess human-like eyes. Private HIVE was another matter. Looking through his memories, Jericho saw a memory through Grant's eyes.

_"Shove off, Dad!" a sixteen-year-old Grant yelled. Jericho could tell this happened shortly after he had lost his voice, "I can do this on my own!"_

_"Don't use that tone with me, boy!" Slade barked. Grant and Slade were both wearing their Ravager and Deathstroke uniforms, but their masks were off. The father and son gave each other deathly glares._

_"For once I just want to do an assignment without you breathing down my neck! It's just a damn rescue mission!"_

_"That doesn't matter! Grant! There are people who won't hesitate to kill you! You need a partner to watch your back!"_

_"You're not a partner!" Grant retorted. "You're just getting in my way! How am I suppose to do better if you won't let me do this alone?"_

_Slade growled, "Not tonight you're not. Take off your uniform. You're grounded from being Ravager until you learn to show some respect. You're my apprentice, Grant. Act like it."_

_In an act of defiance, Grant placed his mask over his head and stuck his gun in his belt._

_"Grant," his father warned, gritting his teeth._

_"I think I'm a little too old to be told what to do. You want to boss someone around, go to Joey."_

_Slade shoved him against the wall behind him. A loud bang erupted from the force, and Grant had to grit his teeth to keep himself from yelling at the sudden pain, "Don't talk like that about your brother! He lost his voice! All because I didn't look out for him! I don't want the same to happen to you or worse!" __The room grew quiet except for their erratic breathing. When Slade cooled down, he released his grip on Grant. "Hand it over."_

_Grant narrowed his eyes at his father, before digging into his pocket and pulling out a communicator and shoving it into Slade's palm, "Fine. Take it. Like I need this."_

_"Go to your room and stay there. We'll talk about your punishment later."_

Jericho pulled out of Private HIVE's body and ran. Even with all this happening at once, he could still connect the dots. After that fight, Grant must have snuck out of the house, thus getting killed on his mission. This still left a lot of questions unanswered. Did he really die? If he did, how did he come back to life? If not, how could he explain the body Joey saw lowered six feet under ground?

But there was no doubt about it. Private HIVE was his brother.

After being rescued by Herald, the two of them went into the Titans' top secret emergency outpost located in a jungle. Jericho wasn't sure of its exact location, but he guessed somewhere in South America. There, Jericho was also welcomed by Pantha, Mas, and Beast Boy. He feared they were the only survivors.

Jericho had to push those unwanted thoughts to the back of his mind. He could deal with Private HIVE after all this was over. While ambushing the Brotherhood of Evil in Paris, Jericho had possessed Cinderblock. At first he wasn't sure if it would work, since he wasn't human, but the possession was a success. While battling the Brotherhood of Evil, he distinctly remembered taking over Private HIVE's body again. That time he stayed in there a little longer. Now that he knew who he was up against, HIVE couldn't take him by surprise.

A mischievous smile etched on Jericho's face as he leaped towards his brother's body. Grant wasn't prepared this time. He tried not to go through his memories, but one of Grant's memories flashed before Jericho's eyes.

_Grant was around thirteen years old, and Joey was seven. From Grant's point of view, Jericho saw Grant manhandling the younger version of him. Grant grabbed his younger brother's hand and made Joey punch himself._

_"Quit hitting yourself! Quit hitting yourself!" Grant taunted._

"Quit hitting yourself! Quit hitting yourself!" Grant said again, but with Jericho taking over this time. _Oh, sweet revenge,_ he thought. Possessing HIVE, he made him punch himself in the face.

Soon enough, The Titans that were frozen were freed and most members of the Brotherhood of Evil ended up frozen in their place. Even HIVE. Before leaving, Jericho couldn't help but frown at HIVE's pathetic figure. He couldn't just go over there and unfreeze him, though. The Titans would ask too many questions, and he'd rather not have that. He couldn't just leave him there either. So he waited until they went to the headquarters of Titans West, and the honorary members and the Titans East cleared out. He left with Herald.

"You ready to head back to the Rockies?" Herald ask. Jericho shook his head and tried to sign out what he wanted to say knowing Herald wouldn't understand him. He smiled, "Don't worry, I came prepared this time."

Herald pulled out a blank, folded piece of paper and an old plastic pen. Jericho took them and wrote out what he wanted to say.

'We have to get back to Paris. There's something I need to get.'

"Alright," Herald nodded. He blew his horn again, and they returned to the battle scene. It was oddly quiet with no one around. No one besides them and the frozen villains, that is. "So, what are you looking for?"

Jericho ran over to the frozen figure, much to the other boy's shock. He tapped HIVE's solid arm with his fist to further show Herald his intentions.

"You want to unfreeze one of the bad guys?" Jericho nodded. "Why?"

Jericho used HIVE's frozen shield to support the paper as he wrote his next message, 'I know him. I haven't seen him in years, but I know his secret identity.'.

Herald had to read it more than once to understand, "Jericho... I'm sorry, but... I don't think unfreezing him will do anyone any good. Whoever HIVE was, he's changed. He's not the same person you knew."

Jericho frowned and scribbled his next message. This time, Herald had trouble understanding it because of its illegibility, 'Yes, he is! You don't know him! I can still help him! Just give me a chance!'

"Just what exactly is your plan anyway?" he frowned. "Do you expect that if you unfreeze him and tell HIVE he isn't all that bad, that he'll suddenly see the error of his ways and the two of you can live happily ever after?"

Getting tired of writing, Jericho signed out what he wanted to say instead, hoping it was simple enough for Herald to understand, 'He's my family.'.

"Family?" he asked. Jericho nodded happily at the understanding. Herald remained silent a little longer, before sighing. "Are you absolutely sure this is what you want?" He nodded again. "Fine. I'll move him to be unfrozen. But if I find out you're wrong about this..." Herald trailed off, letting the rest of his sentence die. He got out his horn and teleported HIVE's body to the defroster.

Herald went to the control panel while Jericho waited at HIVE's side. Suddenly a thought came to him. What would happen next? Herald had a point: Even if they did unfreeze him and convince Grant to come back to his brother and mother, would he? What if Grant had purposely faked his death to get away from his family, and became Private HIVE so he wouldn't have to work for Deathstroke anymore? What if... Grant really wanted to stay with the Brotherhood of Evil? It would only do them more harm than good in the long run if they unfreeze him.

"Are you ready, Jericho?" Surprisingly, Jericho found himself unsure. Should he do this? He turned his thoughts to his mother, whom he prayed that she was still okay. He thought of how happy she would be if she hugged her eldest son again. Joey and Grant may not have gotten along, but they were still brothers. They had to stick together. What kind of brother would Joey be if he left Grant like this? Jericho would rather have Grant remain a villain than to leave him frozen forever.

He smiled and nodded confidently. Herald pushed a button on the control panel, and HIVE's form was suddenly covered in thick vapor. HIVE moved again, opening his blue eyes that was undoubtedly Grant's. Jericho took this advantage to possess HIVE once more. This time, Jericho showed HIVE a memory of his own.

_This is one of Joey's earliest memories. Joey was four years old and Grant was ten. This was before Grant started acting mean to his brother. The two young boys were playing tag outside on their front yard. Grant slowed down so Joey could catch up to him._

_"Tag! You're it!" Joey exclaimed, before running in the other direction. He laughed his heart out as Grant chased him. Joey looked back at Grant while running, which was a poor mistake. Joey tripped on the sidewalk and scraped his knee. Joey clutched his injured knee and cried from the pain. Grant ran up to him._

_"Joey! Calm down, you're alright," Grant persisted. He held Joey until he stopped crying. "There, feeling better?"_

_"It still hurts," he sniffled._

_Grant helped him up, "Then let's take care of it, okay?"_

_"Okay."_

_By the time they made it to the front porch, Grant smiled, "You know, now you get to finally wear those Thomas the Tank Engine band-aids."_

_That made Joey smile._

Jericho pulled out of HIVE and waited for his reaction. HIVE looked from Jericho to Herald to his frozen comrades and back to Jericho. They stood there in silence as HIVE put the pieces together in his mind.

Slowly, almost cautiously, HIVE approached Jericho. Behind HIVE, Jericho saw Herald getting out his horn again. If Private HIVE made the wrong move, Herald would move him somewhere else. "Joey?" HIVE whispered.

Jericho smiled widely and nodded.

"Joey," Grant repeated, removing his mask. Herald lowered his horn and let out a silent gasp.

'Grant', Joey signed, 'come with me. Mom misses you.'.

To Jericho's surprise, Grant understood exactly what he was saying, "She thinks I'm dead, Joe. I can't go back."

'Yes, you can. It's been too quiet without you and Dad. Mom and I still miss you. If she knew you were still alive, she would want you home.'

"I left on my own. I faked my death," Grant exclaimed. "I'm sorry you and Mom had to live without me, but I couldn't stay with Dad."

'Dad's gone,' Joey signed extra carefully. 'He's been missing for over a year now. He won't try to find you again.'

Grant shook his head, "I'm sick and tired of working for him. That's why I turned to the Brotherhood of Evil. I'll unfreeze them and I'll continue to work for them."

'Or, you can join us and live peacefully,' Joey persisted.

"I don't want to live peacefully," Grant retorted. "I'm sorry, Joey, but I'm not going back."

'Think about Mom!'

"Think about me! I want action, but I don't want to stay in... Dad's business. I can't stay with you and Mom."

Herald interrupted, "You can join the Titans. You'll be able to stay with Jericho, and you can get some action. If Robin lets you, you can even start your own superhero team."

Grant hesitated at Herald's offer, "Sounds tempting, but I have to decide on my own," he placed his mask back over his head and turned to Jericho. "I'll come visit you and Mom some other time. Does that sound alright, Joey?" Jericho nodded. It wasn't what he hoped for, but it was better than nothing. "Well, I believe I should be going now."

"We're in Paris," Herald mentioned. "If there's anywhere you need to go, I can open a portal-"

HIVE lifted his hand for Herald to stop, "No need. I'll stay here in Europe. Take care, Joey, and send Mom my love."

Grant turned to leave, but before he could leave the room, Jericho ambushed him with a hug. He felt his older brother stiffen at the contact, but soon relaxed into it. Jericho turned him around so Grant could see him sign, 'I love you.'.

"I love you too, Joe," Grant said, clasping a hand on his shoulder. Jericho watched as his brother left the room. Silence once more filled the area between them. Jericho felt another hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Herald.

"I think it's about time we should go," he said. Jericho nodded in agreement. The two of them took a portal back to the United States, back to that same flowery hill where Jericho's guitar laid in one piece. "I'll see you again soon," Herald promised.

Jericho nodded, and signed, 'Thank you.'.

"Anytime, Joe," Herald smiled. Joey watched him disappear back into his own dimension, before sighing and picking up his guitar again. He looked up to the sky. The sun was setting, and it was time for him to head back to the log cabin.

After the long hike, the sun had completely set and the stars were out. Joey opened the door to find his mother frowning in front of him, "Joseph Michael Wilson!" she barked. "What in heaven's name took you so long? Do you have any idea how worried sick I was? I was about to go out there myself and drag your sorry butt back here! What do you have to say for yourself?"

'Sorry,' he signed. 'The Titans needed me. Next time, I promise to let you know.'

"Damn right," she muttered, waving him inside. "You'll have to reheat your dinner. Afterwards, you go straight to bed. You hear me, young man?"

Joey was so tempted to tell her about Grant, but he felt it just wasn't time._ Tomorrow,_ he thought to himself. _I'll tell her tomorrow._ Joey nodded and did what he was told. Later, Joey tucked himself in bed and stared at the ceiling. Memories from today and years before went through his mind. At long last, he drifted into a peaceful sleep.

_"Grant?" A five-year-old Joey asked. An eleven-year-old Grant turned to his younger brother._

_"Yeah?"_

_"I drew this for you," Joey held up a drawing of two stick figures. Both had yellow hair, and one had blue dots for eyes and the other was shorter with green dots for eyes. The taller stick figure was labeled 'Grant' in Joey's childish handwriting, and the other one was labeled 'Me'. Grant took the picture and looked at it._

_"I like it, Joey," he smiled. "I'll hold on to it."_

From outside of Joey's dreams, outside of the country, and across the ocean, in a small apartment in France, Grant was laying on his bed, his uniform long ago removed. He stared pensively at that very same drawing, before setting it aside and turning off his lamp.

"Maybe I should go home," Grant thought out loud. He settled himself in bed and looked out the window. "See ya soon, Joey."


End file.
